Frequently Asked Questions

What is Giftbac?

Simply put, Giftbac is a solution to a global problem. Around the world, freelancers do work for Amazon Mechanical Turk and get paid in Amazon store credit.

Normally they buy something and resell it, taking a massive loss along the way. We offer you their Amazon credit as an Amazon Gift Card, in exchange for Bitcoin.

Soon we’ll be accepting other digital currencies too. Our aim is to make sure Turkers everywhere get fair compensation for their work. And you can get a great discount on Amazon credit because using Bitcoin saves everyone money.

Since this is a global endeavor, we offer Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, and Amazon.es gift cards to go along with our Amazon.com ones. We’ve even included a filter on the site to help you find what you want.

Where do the cards come from?

As I mentioned, we get our cards from Amazon Mechanical Turk workers, or Turkers.

They tell Amazon to deliver their payment as a gift card to Giftbac. The code is still hidden on the physical card we receive. We don’t reveal it until you order, meaning no one has seen it before.

It’s beautifully simple, and it works. After sitting down with Turkers and seeing their problems firsthand, I thought you really should just be able to exchange one currency (Amazon credit) for another (Bitcoin).

Are your Gift Cards always in stock?

We’re still working on outreach and getting other Turkers on board, so our stocks may run out sometimes.

Why are the amounts not rounded?

Think about your paycheck. Is it rounded? Turkers get paid for what they do just like you, so when they cash out the amounts are often uneven.

But what’s great about this is that you can find a greater variety of amounts to get exactly what you need.

Can we trust Giftbac?

That’s a question that only you, the users can answer. We have reviews you can look at, and satisfied suppliers.

Seeing as the blockchain is public, it wouldn’t be too hard to smear us if we were lying.

How is Gift Bac different from Purse.io?

Purse.io is a great service, I came across it while researching for Gift Bac. Truth is, it gave me more ideas of what not to do.

The goal was to streamline the site for the Turkers. That’s who we’re trying to help. So instead of creating a very competitive marketplace with your wish lists and desired discounts, we wanted to create a storefront.
So what you see is what you get. No haggling, no need to sift through clunky menus. Just click and buy.

Also, privacy is constantly fading. We should aim to protect it. So you don’t need to give your address or other personal information at Gift Bac. You click, you pay, you get a gift card. What you do with it after is up to you.

Which is another great reason to use Gift Bac: You can re-gift or even resell your gift card. You could actually turn a profit, something Purse.io won’t let you do.
Our team believes we’ve struck a great compromise between Turkers getting the absolute maximum value they can, and you getting a great deal with minimal hassle.

Orders

I’ve received the confirmation of my order via email, but where’s my gift card?

We send it to you via email after one confirmation on the Bitcoin network. Sometimes the network gets backed up, but this shouldn’t take more than an hour.

What forms of payment do you accept?

For now, just Bitcoin. We’re going to expand into other altcoins soon.

Can I return my gift card?

Unfortunately no. All sales are final here. The reason is that we use an automated system that passes your bitcoin on to the Turkers, so once you send us your bitcoin it’s really out of our hands. See the Terms and Conditions for more details.

What happens if Gift Bac cancels an order?

Very rarely Turkers offer us a new balance to turn into a card, and the system needs a couple minutes to update. In the event we can’t give you the exact card that you requested, we’ll refund your bitcoin in full.

What about Bitcoin transaction fees?

We want to keep fees as low as possible. You can use mempool to find the best time to make a payment (peak hours raise fees). Since we only ask for one confirmation that helps.

Hopefully the new Bitcoin protocol works better, and soon we’ll let you use altcoins that should reduce the problem. In any case, your savings cover your fees and more.

When will I receive my gift card?

After one confirmation on the blockchain, so roughly 20-30 minutes, although it can take longer during peak hours.

I’m not sure if I paid the invoice correctly

Any time we get an underpayment, our system lets us know and we’ll get in touch with you. We can either refund you or have you pay the difference.

Underpaid invoices usually happen for one of three reasons:

Not including a fee in your payment (check wallet settings)

Paying the fiat value of the gift card instead of the BTC amount due (remember, exchange rates differ across sites)

Making a payment directly from a Bitcoin exchange (the live rate is always changing and may be inaccurate)

Also, if you pay outside of the 30 minute window, this can cause our system to flag your order. In most cases we review it and approve it.
Please try to avoid using exchange wallets to pay. Fees tend to be higher and we find the payments arrive more slowly, which can cause us to have to review them or refund them.

But please never be hesitant to contact us. If your payment hasn’t been confirmed within 3 hours of sending, just let us know and we’ll figure it out.

I’m not sure if I paid the invoice correctly

Any time we get an underpayment, our system lets us know and we’ll get in touch with you. We can either refund you or have you pay the difference.

Underpaid invoices usually happen for one of three reasons:

Not including a fee in your payment (check wallet settings)

Paying the fiat value of the gift card instead of the BTC amount due (remember, exchange rates differ across sites)

Making a payment directly from a Bitcoin exchange (the live rate is always changing and may be inaccurate)

Also, if you pay outside of the 30 minute window, this can cause our system to flag your order. In most cases we review it and approve it.

Please try to avoid using exchange wallets to pay. Fees tend to be higher and we find the payments arrive more slowly, which can cause us to have to review them or refund them.

But please never be hesitant to contact us. If your payment hasn’t been confirmed within 3 hours of sending, just let us know and we’ll figure it out.

I have a problem with my order

No problem, we have a support team on hand. Just email support@giftbac.com

Can I cancel my order and get a refund?

Once the gift card is sent out, we have no way of cancelling them and returning the credit to the Turker. Due to the speedy nature of the system, once you place an order it’s very difficult for us to reverse it, and we’ve decided not to unless the circumstances are extreme. Check out the Terms and Conditions.

I’m still waiting for a reply from your support

We try to get through them as fast as we can. We work Monday to Friday from 9 to 6, but we always have people online.

Accounts

How do I create an account?

It’s easy, just an email and a password. You get a verification email and then you’re set. Click here to go straight to it.

How do I reset my password

Happens to all of us, not a problem. Just head here and you can reset it through your email.

Gift Cards

My card isn’t working!

Don’t panic. Sorry to hear that, first off.

Check the terms and conditions on the card. Can you use it where you are? Some cards are locked by country, others can’t be used offline, and some retailers have their own restrictions.

It’s important to talk directly to the retailer. Amazon gift cards aren’t US dollars, stores have the right not to take them, so you should always check beforehand.

If that doesn’t help just shoot us a message at support@giftbac.com.

Will the gift cards work in my country?

You can filter gift cards by country when you shop. The majority work worldwide, but the safest thing is to buy one that was issued for the country where you intend to spend it.